Smart watches, also often referred to as “smartwatches”, are portable electronic devices, worn like a wristwatch, or like a fashion accessory on a strap, or a belt, or some other fashion or jewelry contrivance. Smart watches are essentially small computers, as they include a processor, some memory, a display, a communication component, an ability to accept user input, and an ability to download and execute a variety of application software.
Like all electronic devices, smart watches depend for their functioning on having a built-in source of time, which enables them to perform the key function of a conventional timepiece: display the current time.
The ability of a smart watch to display the time is commonly seen as a cornerstone function of the device. A smart watch that does not function as a watch is usually seen as showing an unacceptable regression of its most basic function. Such device cannot be classified as a smart watch and would have to compete for space on the wrist of the user against a conventional watch that actually shows time and belongs on the wrist by custom and tradition.
In many human cultures, particularly the ones relying on the daily use of electronic devices, personal time management and thus immediate access to the current time are accepted as a common and essential utility. Various wristwatches with mechanical, quartz, kinetic, and other movements are commonly available and have established clear expectations of dependability.
Thus a need exists for an apparatus combining the benefits of the extensive functionality of smart watches with an ability to display time, similar in its dependability to traditional mechanical, quartz, and kinetic timepieces.